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This month we feature Marty Friedman, Twisted Sister, Blackberry Smoke, Blue Öyster Cult, Rick Vito, Judas Priest, Kay-Ta Matsuno W.C. Clark, HSAS, Mark Knopfler, and more! Spotify is free or available without ads via a paid subscription. Go to www.spotify.com and search “Vintage Guitar magazine,” or if you already have an account Listen to the […]
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SynapticGroove’s SlackJaw OD/Boost/Fuzz Price: $239 Info: www.synapticgroove.com Last year SynapticGroove entered the stompbox arena with the Snapperhead Overdrive/Distortion, attracting high-profile users like Peter Stroud of Sheryl Crow’s band and Richard Fortus of Guns N’ Roses. This year SynapticGroove introduced the SlackJaw OD/Boost/Fuzz, a new pedal that packs a wallop with plenty of tonal features and […]
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Classic Instruments
Traynor YBA-2 Bass Mate
Canadian amp maker Traynor gets a lot of respect in some circles for turning out solid, good-sounding tube amps that are built with quality components and, in many cases, can easily be modified toward a sonic condition more substantial than when they left the factory. It’s also frequently noted that they “blend British and American […]
Classic Instruments
Domino Californian Rebel
Instrument Profile
California. The Left Coast. It was probably home to North America’s earliest inhabitants, as emigrants from Asia crossed the Bering Strait and began their march toward South America. But California figured little in much of anything else until 1848, when the folks setting up a lumber mill on John Sutter’s property near San Francisco noticed […]
VG Approved Gear
Amptweaker’s TightDrive Jr
Big Surprise, Small Package
You may remember James Brown as the mastermind at Peavey Electronics and Kustom Amplification. In addition to being the brains behind Peavey’s 5150, Classic Series, and JSX, Brown is an award-winning pedal designer. Today, he practices his artistry at Amptweaker. One of Brown’s Amptweaker designs is the TightDrive Jr, a multipurpose overdrive that takes up […]
Artists
Joe Osborn
A Few (Hundred) Hits
Ed. Note: Joe passed away December 14th, 2018, he was 81. Joe Osborn. His face has never been on a record jacket or album cover. Odds are most have heard his name, but have no idea what his musical accomplishments have meant to contemporary pop music. If you listened to the radio or owned a […]
Artists
Christopher Thorn
Alt-Rocker/Studio Guru
Best known as half of the guitar tandem in the ’90s alternative-rock band Blind Melon (that’s his rhythm on “No Rain,” using his Gibson J-30), Christopher Thorn has since recorded and toured with other acts including Live and Awolnation. For the past two decades, though, his work time has mostly been occupied producing other artists […]
Artists
Mark St. John
The Lost Kiss Interview
With the release of Kiss’ recent live album, Off The Soundboard: Poughkeepsie, New York, 1984, fans hear one of precious few concerts featuring guitarist Mark St. John. A member for less than a year, St. John played on the Animalize album, but fate intervened when he experienced a bout of arthritis that forced his departure. […]
VG Approved Gear
The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic
Heart Pounder
Sometimes, it takes awhile to dial-in a good idea. The Epiphone Nancy Wilson Fanatic improves on Gibson’s Nighthawk design from the early ’90s, and now offers a versatile, player-friendly instrument. The big knocks on the Nighthawk were that it was headstock-heavy and had a useless middle-position single-coil. The Fanatic eliminates that pickup and uses two […]
Classic Instruments
Vega De Luxe Electric Plectrum Banjo
Billed as “the latest orchestral sensation… unparalleled for versatility,” Vega’s electric banjos – developed to compete with one being made by Gibson – were of little consequence in the market. Documentation is sparse, but it appears Vega started building them in late 1938 and continued until ’42, before surrendering to the production privations of World […]
Music
Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams
Live at Levon’s!
The term “versatile” is laughable when it comes to Larry Campbell. A handful of the artists he has recorded, produced, and toured with includes Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper, Keith Richards, Judy Collins, Jorma Kaukonen, Paul Simon, David Bromberg, and Rosanne Cash. In this set featuring vocals by his wife, Teresa Williams, Campbell sings and plays […]
VG Approved Gear
Tim Bogert’s Modified Fender
One Fudged Bass
When Vanilla Fudge helped pioneer the progressive-rock movement in the latter half of the ’60s, bassist Tim Bogert played more than one Fender Precision – and usually installed Telecaster Bass necks on them. Bogert preferred the chunkier feel of the Tele Bass neck, which reminded him of ’50s P-Basses. And for him, one instrument, in […]
Artists
Pat Martino
1944-2021
Music suffered an incalculable loss with the passing of Pat Martino, who died in his sleep on the morning of November 1. An icon of the jazz world, he leaves a legacy, catalog, and philosophy that continues to inspire and inform across the musical spectrum. Born Patrick Carmen Azzara on August 25, 1944, Martino lived […]
Artists
Jeff “Skunk” Baxter
License To Thrill
To a generation of music fans, Jeff “Skunk” Baxter was one of the most recognizable guitarists of the early ’70s. On TV shows like “Midnight Special” and “American Bandstand,” he was the Telecaster-wielding rocker who played on Steely Dan’s first three albums; his solos on “Rikki Don’t Lose That Number,” “Night By Night,” “Bodhisattva,” and […]
Classic Instruments
The Burke Guitar
The Axe that Time Forgot
For more than 60 years, aluminum has been used as a component in guitar construction. Exactly whose idea it was originally has never been a cut-and-dried matter of fact, but has amply provided cud for the world’s guitar animals to chew upon. In his November ’04 column “The Different Strummer: Al-u-minium!,” VG contributor Michael Wright […]
Artists
James Mastro
All Texture, No Clutter
As one of the guitarists in Ian Hunter’s Rant Band for the past 17 years, James Mastro is responsible for providing some of the texture that gives the legendary singer’s songs depth and definition. • “James is a thinking guitarist,” says Hunter. “By that I mean he colors beautifully. Boschie (Mark Bosch, Vintage Guitar, October ’16) […]
Artists
Dennis Dunaway
Earwigs, Alice, and Beyond
Lungs burning, sweat soaking their shaggy hair in the Arizona sun as miles passed beneath their feet, Dennis Dunaway and Vince Furnier shared endorphin highs along with an appreciation for surrealist art and deep cuts by the Beatles. Stars on the track and cross-country teams at Cortez High School, both were imports to Phoenix; Dunaway’s […]
VG Approved Gear
Fire-Eye Red-Eye Twin DI
Double Your Pleasure
In a simple system, even a basic direct-input box with little in the way of adjustments will work fine. But what if your setup includes a plethora of pedals and effects? This can lead to problems because each device raises the impedance and noise floor while lowering the overall signal output. Fire-Eye electronics has a […]
Artists
Have Guitar Will Travel – 029 Featuring Greg Koch
Episode 29 of James Patrick Regan’s “Have Guitar Will Travel” podcast features “The Gristlemaster,” Greg Koch, who talks about his current tour, his guitar collection, the signature models he has designed, his (4,000-plus) demo videos for Wildwood Guitars, and his instructional books and videos for Hal Leonard. Greg has met and played for/with a lot […]